An ad hoc group of small Colorado credit unions is getting help from their larger brethren to cope with compliance and social media challenges.
The latest assistance comes this month in the form of free workshops and staffing help to a group of CEOs from15 small and mid-sized credit unions who are drawing support from one another as well as receiving backing from peers among the state’s largest credit unions, said a statement from the Alliance of Rocky Mountain Credit Unions.
Sundie Seefried, president/CEO of the $230 million Partner Colorado CU of Arvada and a founder of the year-old alliance, said the informal group was created to help credit unions help each other with business and operational support services and could be a model for use elsewhere in the country.
The alliance, Seefried said, has been working in particular with credit unions under $30 million in the Denver metro area in a partnership arrangement that provides assistance wherever needed. That includes marketing, training, pricing and coaching to help participating credit unions with growth strategies.
The alliance, Seefried noted, collaborated recently on the MyBank2Go citywide marketing project and recently hosted a social media seminar providing four credit unions with a stipend for public relations services.
“Each credit union received a $2,000 sponsorship and one-on-one support to establish a social media program,” she said.
“What's really great is that even though large credit unions are not part of the alliance, both Ent FCU and Elevations jumped right in and offered funding and staff resources to support the Alliance and sponsor a small credit union,” Seefried said.
Seefried, who also is a director of the Mountain West Credit Union Association, was referring to the $3.6 billion Ent FCU of Colorado Springs and the $1.1 billion Elevations CU of Boulder.
The alliance provides advice to MWCUA in setting up the most workable compliance programs.Alliance members and their sponsors for a new social media program include Community Choice CU, sponsored by Denver Community CU; Electrical FCU, sponsored by Elevations; West Denver Community CU, sponsored by Ent FCU; and Westminster FCU, sponsored by Partner Colorado CU.
Other alliance credit unions include Arapahoe CU, Aurora Schools FCU, College CU, Colorado CU, Columbine FCU, Community Choice CU, Denver Community FCU, Foothills CU, Horizons North CU, Metrum CU, Sooper CU, Space Age FCU and White Crown FCU.
